Cocking archery bows involves moving the bow string from an uncocked position to a cocked position, which can be difficult in that a variable amount of work can be required to move the bow string to the cocked position. A bow's draw weight is the peak amount of weight an archer will encounter while drawing the bow into the cocked position. While bows for children have a low draw weight, around ten to twenty pounds, performance bows and bows used for hunting can have substantial draw weights. For example, draw weights in excess of fifty pounds are typical for traditional and compound style bows. Crossbows, however, often have draw weights in the range of one-hundred to two-hundred pounds, and are therefore some of the most difficult bows to cock.
Devices to make cocking a crossbow easier are available in the market. An example of such a device is a cocking rope, which is sometimes referred to in the industry as a “block and tackle.” A cocking rope introduces the mechanical advantage of a pulley system into cocking the crossbow, thereby decreasing the peak amount of weight the archer must pull when moving the bowstring to the cocked position. However, a cocking rope may be ineffective for some archers, as the archer cannot pause before reaching the cocked position in the cocking process without returning the bowstring to the uncocked position. Moreover, even if the draw weight is reduced by half, this may still be excessive for some archers. In addition, the most practical way to use a cocking rope is in a traditional crossbow-cocking position, where the archer's foot is placed into the stirrup on the crossbow, and the archer bends over toward the stirrup to pull the bowstring upward. But bending and pulling in such position may be challenging or impossible for some archers.
Another device designed to make cocking easier is a crank. Crossbow-cocking cranks are known and are typically of the ratcheting type, which lock after each advancement interval. Cranks represent an improvement over cocking ropes, because an archer can operate the crank and move the bowstring part-way to the cocked position, and then pause without the bowstring returning to the uncocked position. In addition, cranks remove the necessity for bending over and pulling a cocking rope and a crossbow can be cocked from many positions, including on a tabletop. However, because of the substantial draw weights associated with crossbows, a crank must be securely fastened to the crossbow to be safe and effective. While designs for attaching cranks to crossbows are known, many of them are aesthetically and functionally unappealing. For example, some designs have the crank permanently attached to a crossbow, but these have been regarded as adding unwanted weight and as being bulky and cumbersome. Removable crank designs are available, but these have varying degrees of ease of installation and removal.
Thus, a need exists in the art for devices that make cocking a crossbow easier, are well designed, and are easy to install and remove, and for crossbows that work with such devices.